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Patrick O'Connor / The Politico:
Waxman dethrones Dingell as chairman — California Rep. Henry A. Waxman on Thursday officially dethroned longtime Energy and Commerce Chairman John Dingell, upending a seniority system that has governed Democratic politics in the House for decades. — In a secret ballot vote in the Cannon Caucus Room …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Bloomberg, The New Republic, TIME.com, Reuters, Newshoggers.com and Swampland
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Mike Soraghan / The Hill:
Waxman wrestles gavel from Dingell — Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) will become the next chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee after House Democrats voted to replace current Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.). — Waxman won 137-122 in the secret ballot vote.
TPM Election Central:
In Big Win For Liberals, Waxman Ousts Dingell As Energy And Commerce Chair — This is big, big, big. In a victory for the Democratic left, Rep. Henry Waxman has just successfully ousted Rep. John Dingell from his longtime perch as head of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Ezra Klein / American Prospect:
WAXMAN WINS. — Secret Twitter sources say that Henry Waxman — who, according to my Google image search, is shorter than Arianne Huffington by a startling margin — just beat John Dingell for chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee by 15 votes. If you care about action on global warming, that's a very big deal indeed.
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Most Americans Back Idea of Clinton as Secretary of State — Nearly 8 in 10 Democrats favor the possibility — USA - Election 2008 - Elections - Government - Party Affiliation - The Presidency - Americas - Northern America — PRINCETON, NJ — A new Gallup Poll finds a majority of Americans …
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Paul Richter / Los Angeles Times:
Antiwar groups fear Barack Obama may create hawkish Cabinet
Antiwar groups fear Barack Obama may create hawkish Cabinet
Discussion:
Hot Air, NewsBusters.org, This ain't Hell …, normblog, Flopping Aces, The Heretik, Associated Press, The Reaction and Say Anything
William Glaberson / New York Times:
Judge Orders Five Detainees Freed From Guantánamo — In the first hearing on the government's evidence for holding detainees at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp for nearly seven years, a federal judge ruled on Thursday that five prisoners were being held an unlawfully and ordered their release.
Discussion:
MoJoBlog, SCOTUSblog, The Corner, ACSBlog, The Washington Independent, The Heretik, Discourse.net and Incertus
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Del Quentin Wilber / Washington Post:
Federal Judge Orders Release of 5 Guantanamo Detainees — Ruling Comes After Landmark Supreme Court Ruling on Right to Habeas Corpus — For the first time, a federal judge today ordered the release of enemy combatants from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba …
Discussion:
Salon, Think Progress, Stop The ACLU, Associated Press, Law Blog, This ain't Hell …, The Washington Independent, The Agitator and On Deadline
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
GOP Takes Another Image Hit Post-Election — Republicans favor tacking right; independents offer mixed guidance — USA - Democrats - Favorability - Government and Politics - Political Parties - Republicans - Americas - Northern America — PRINCETON, NJ — The Republican Party's image …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly, MyDD, Boston Globe, The Swamp, Shakesville and Oxdown Gazette
Marin Cogan / The New Republic:
Bum Rush — Obama's secret plan to muzzle talk radio. Very, very secret. — Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, and other friends have spent the past year screaming about the horrors of Barack Obama. And, while it's true that they talked ad nauseam about socialism and the Weathermen and Jeremiah Wright …
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
THE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE, PARANOIA, AND RIGHT-WING SELF-PITY. …
THE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE, PARANOIA, AND RIGHT-WING SELF-PITY. …
Discussion:
Human Events, PoliGazette, Midwest Voices, The Anonymous Liberal and Lawyers, Guns and Money
Minnesota Public Radio:
Challenged ballots: You be the judge — Representatives from the campaigns of Sen. Norm Coleman and Al Franken have been challenging ballots across the state. — It's your turn to play election judge. Tell us how you would rule in the case of these challenged ballots.
Discussion:
Washington Wire, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Rachel Lucas, Outside The Beltway, Sister Toldjah, Hot Air, Bob Cesca's Goddamn …, Gawker, TPM Election Central, MSNBC, Betsy's Page, Alas, a blog, MoJoBlog, No More Mister Nice Blog, FiveThirtyEight.com, Swing State Project and rubber hose
The Politico:
Senate GOP in big funk — A day after losing Ted Stevens' seat, along with their best hope for getting Joe Lieberman to cross over, Senate GOP leaders preached party unity as the key to surviving the Obama years. — If that doesn't work, there's always psychotherapy.
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The Huffington Post:
McCain Pollster Explains Loss, Calls Frank Luntz A Moron — The chief pollster for John McCain's presidential campaign offered a candid diagnosis of how his candidate was done in, on occasion reserving harsh words for fellow Republicans. — Bill McInturff, speaking at a National Journal breakfast …
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
What's Your Type? — This site claims to be able to analyze a blog and determine its “type.” I plugged the Dish in and it spat back this: … Take that, Patterico! Out of curiosity, I tried Reynolds: … And Yglesias: … And Hewitt: … Not too shabby, is it?
Patt Morrison / Los Angeles Times:
California Rep. Linda Sanchez's baby announcement — It was planned, and so is a wedding in the future with the father. — When was the last time you read a baby announcement on the Op-Ed pages? — Exactly. So this is obviously more than baby news. It's about how far we've come, and where we may still fall short.
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Mike Allen / The Politico:
Exclusive: Pritzker turns down Commerce — Chicago businesswoman Penny Pritzker, national campaign finance chairwoman for the Obama campaign, has taken herself out of the running to be secretary of Commerce because of vetting issues, a Democratic official said.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Top of the Ticket, Commentary, Lynn Sweet, Hot Air, TIME.com and The New Republic
Sen. Russ Feingold / Salon:
An unpardonable use of power — A departing president probably can't help thinking about the judgment of history. At the end of eight years, President Bush likely isn't any different. With the nation's attention focused on his successor, it may seem as if there is little opportunity left …
The Trail / Washington Post:
Michelle Obama Taps Jackie Norris for Chief of Staff — Incoming first lady Michelle Obama has tapped Jackie Norris, President-elect Barack Obama's Iowa state director to be her chief of staff. Norris, a high school government and history teacher and long-time Iowa Democrat …
Discussion:
TIME.com
The Huffington Post:
World Leaders Don't Shake Bush's Hand At G20 Summit (VIDEO) — It appears in this video that President Bush's approval is in a sorrier state than polls indicate. In a video taken at the G20 summit, Bush walks across a line of world leaders without shaking or being asked to shake any of their hands.
New York Times:
Iran Said to Have Nuclear Fuel for One Weapon — Iran has now produced roughly enough nuclear material to make, with added purification, a single atom bomb, according to nuclear experts analyzing the latest report from global atomic inspectors. — The figures detailing Iran's progress …
Mort Kondracke / Real Clear Politics:
First Steps to GOP Recovery — How can the Republican Party rebound? The first step would be to quit letting Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham set its agenda. — A second step would be for Congressional Republicans to actually try to help President-elect Barack Obama succeed …
Jeff G. / protein wisdom:
Well, if Bill Ayers can airbrush history and claim he was never a terrorist — ...I can certainly pretend I've never been a blogger. — Which works out fine, considering I'm sick and need a day off to recover anyway. — Meantime, here are few odds and ends to consider as I lay congested …
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Conservative Transportation Policy — Politico reports on conservatives trying to think of some ideas: … I'm not sure exactly what Strassel has in mind, but to my way of thinking an enormous amount of good could be done if conservatives were more interested in applying really basic free market principles to transportation policy.